Summary The Clinical Pharmacist is responsible for providing clinical and operational pharmacy support for outpatient areas at the point of patient care. Greater than twenty-five percent of the incumbent's time will be spent providing comprehensive pharmaceutical care, including medication reconciliation and polypharmacy, to patients in the outpatient pharmacy practice area or other assigned areas. Responsibilities VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://youtube.com/embed/Fn_ickNBEws The Clinical Pharmacist is responsible for providing clinical and operational pharmacy support for outpatient areas at the point of patient care. Greater than twenty-five percent of the incumbent's time will be spent providing comprehensive pharmaceutical care, including medication reconciliation and polypharmacy, to patients in the outpatient pharmacy practice area or other assigned areas. The incumbent will also assist physicians, residents, interns, nurse practitioners, and physician's assistants in pharmacotherapy management of individual patients, and precept pharmacy students and residents as assigned on pharmacy practice experience rotations. Duties include and are not limited to: Patient care clinical activities: (a) Reviews and evaluates prescribed drug therapy daily for appropriateness, effectiveness, cost-benefit, adverse drug reactions, allergies, drug-drug and drug-disease interactions, and communicates and documents recommendations to providers and pharmacists as necessary. This includes evaluation and approval/disapproval of non-formulary requests as assigned. (b) Provides medication education and counseling to patients and their caregivers. (c) Provides management of patient therapy by utilization of advanced skills in pharmaceutics, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters. (d) Develops professional relationships with non-pharmacy professional personnel, and projects the highest level of professional pharmacy practice. (e) Appropriately renders pharmaceutical care to the assigned patients and documents care in the medical record. (f) Acts as a pharmacotherapy expert and provides expertise to other providers, pharmacists, nurses, and other disciplines as appropriate. (g) Designs and performs relevant drug use evaluations under direction of the pharmacy management staff. Distributive Activities: (a) Reviews and verifies outpatient prescriptions which include correct and complete patient information, correct medication, dose, route, and frequency of administration in compliance with medical center medication use policies. Orders are checked for patient allergies, drug interactions, incompatibilities, duplication, and priority of need. (b) Identifies, interprets, and resolves prescribing and dispensing issues including pharmacotherapeutic and formulary issues. Documents interventions as necessary. (c) Assists medical and nursing staff with medication reconciliation and smooth transitions of medications across the continuum of care. (d) Dispenses controlled substances with accuracy according to current policy and procedures and federal statutes. Program Management: Participates in clinical pharmacy programs in the assigned practice areas including therapeutic drug monitoring, drug use evaluation, medication safety, and other pharmacy and medical center medication-related programs. (b) Education and Training: Assists in training and documentation of pharmacy staff regarding controlled substance operations, policies, and procedures, VHA and DEA regulations, and federal statutes. Assists in all aspects of training technical staff by conducting on-the-job training, conducting in-services, and providing specialized training regarding controlled substance requirements Provides training to residents and students in outpatient clinical rotations. Participates in formal and informal educational programs of the service. (c) Administrative: Actively assures that policy and procedures of the Service and medical center are followed. Assists the Chief, Assistant Chief, and supervisors of the pharmacy in developing policies and procedures. Represents pharmacy on assigned committees. Work Schedule: To be Determined by Service Chief Compressed/Flexible: Not available Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 61039-F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Must pass pre-employment physical examination. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Qualifications Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. Education: Graduate of an Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) accredited College or School of Pharmacy with a baccalaureate degree in pharmacy (BS Pharmacy) and/or a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree. Verification of approved degree programs may be obtained from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, 20 North Clark Street, Suite 2500, Chicago, Illinois 60602-5109; phone: (312) 664-3575, or through their Web site at: http://www.acpe-accredit.org/. (NOTE: Prior to 2005 ACPE accredited both baccalaureate and Doctor of Pharmacy terminal degree program. Today the sole degree is Doctor of Pharmacy.) Graduates of foreign pharmacy degree programs meet the educational requirement if the graduate is able to provide proof of achieving the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Commission (FPGEC) Certification, which includes passing the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination (FPGEE) and the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-Based Tect (TOEFL iBT). Licensure: Full, current and unrestricted license to practice pharmacy in a State, Territory, Commonwealth of the United States (i.e., Puerto Rico), or the District of Columbia. The pharmacist must maintain current registration if this is a requirement for maintaining full, current, and unrestricted licensure. English Language Proficiency: Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d). In addition to the basic requirements listed above, the below qualification requirements must be met. Grade Determinations: GS-12 Clinical Pharmacist (Outpatient) (a) Experience or Education. In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must meet one of the following: 1. 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level, or 2. Completion of an ACPE-accredited Pharm.D. program. (b) Assignment. A pharmacist in this assignment handles routine medication-related activities in accordance with local, Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN), and national policies and regulations. These include, but are not limited to: reviewing, interpreting, and verifying medication orders for appropriateness; processing and filling medication orders; interacting with and making recommendations to other clinical staff regarding medication therapy ordered to ensure safe and effective care; reviewing the patient's medications, allergies, labs, and other pertinent information from the medical record to identify and solve medication-related problems; contacting providers as appropriate; documenting recommendations and interventions; providing refill extensions and partial medication supplies; taking health and medication histories; performing medication reconciliation; providing drug information; assisting in formulary management including therapeutic substitutions, nonformulary reviews and medication usage evaluations; documenting and assessing adverse drug events (ADEs); assisting in medical emergencies; providing oversight of technical staff in all aspects of medication distribution. Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following Full Performance KSAs: 1. Knowledge of professional pharmacy practice. 2. Ability to communicate orally and in writing to both patients and health care staff. 3. Knowledge of laws, regulations, and accreditation standards related to the distribution and control of scheduled and non-scheduled drugs and pharmacy security. 4. Skill in monitoring and assessing the outcome of drug therapies, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: Applicants must be able to perform the following duties: light lifting; Walking or standing for up to 8-hours; Must possess visual acuity to read @typed print; Keen hearing (aids permitted).The loss or impairment of a specific function may be compensated by satisfactory use of prosthesis. Education Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.
